Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
Smashwords store

Author:

An
elementary school teacher who married a Marine, Erin Frey’s books are aimed at
communicating things she learned the hard way to make it easier for others. Her
dream is to one day write a romance novel.

Description:

“Who says
you can't have a fulfilling lifestyle without disposable income? That's a myth!
The secret to living well on very little is a combination of managing what you
have wisely, cutting back in some places, and learning how to earn a few extra
dollars or collecting rewards for things you already do. You'll learn about
free or inexpensive entertainment, the power of brand disloyalty, and a host of
other things that are so obvious, you won't believe you weren't doing them
before.

This self-help
collection of tricks and tips is separated into three categories: Easy Hacks
(incredibly simple ways to save), It's a Chore (practices requiring moderate
effort), and Superman of Savings (only for the motivated). You'll find ideas to
help you start saving, earning, and stretching your dollars further than you
ever thought possible!”

Appraisal:

As the
author explains in the introduction, this book came about when she and her
husband got out of the military and they moved for him to attend college on the
GI bill, shrinking their family income from two wage earners to zero. Although
not as extensive as some books I’ve read on the subject, I also didn’t feel
that Frey’s money saving suggestions were too far out there, which was the case
with a few books with the same aim. I especially liked the way she broke the
ideas into three categories based on the effort to implement them and a couple
of the “easy hacks” (suggestions that take minimal effort) were new ideas for
me, which was a positive.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
Smashwords store

Author:

Keith Nixon
is the author of The Fix and The
Konstantin Novellas series, both crime fiction, with a sequel to The Fix slated for release soon. He’s
also the author of The Eagle’s Shadow,
which is historical fiction and the first in the series which this book
continues. In addition to writing and his day job, Keith reviews for Crime Fiction Lover as well as being one
of Books and Pals’ most prolific reviewers.

Description:

“One man
stands against the might of the Roman Empire. His name is Caradoc.

The British
army is shattered, defeat snatched from the jaws of victory by subterfuge and
betrayal. Caradoc flees the battlefield, the crown heavy on his head and his
heart set on retribution. He has to make hard decisions and tough compromises,
but with the sovereignty of Britain at stake, personal pride sometimes has to
take second place.

Emperor
Claudius is determined to make as much political mileage as possible out of the
Roman victory in an attempt to consolidate his own position. That does not sit
well with the Roman military, who have their own objectives and who will do
whatever it takes to achieve them.

As the
Romans consolidate their gains and begin to push west, Caradoc finds he has few
friends left. So he must turn to the Durotriges, a wild, hill fort dwelling
tribe. But the Durotriges are riven by strife and petty squabbles.

Aulus
Plautius, commander of the Roman army, brings his siege weapons to bear, can
Caradoc resist the onslaught?”

Appraisal:

The Eagle’s Blood continues the story of the various
tribes that occupied what is now Britain in their resistance against the
invasion of the Roman army during the first century AD. Beyond the obvious
(lots of battles and military strategy), there is plenty of intrigue and human
interest going on as well.

When I read
historical stories I’m always comparing and contrasting to the modern world.
One thing that struck me was how much this invasion was influenced by politics
and technology, both still major factors in the modern world. At the time
Britain was a hodgepodge of different tribes and if they are to have any hope
to stop the Romans, they have to come together. The politics of combining the
forces of tribes that have historically clashed and deciding who will lead these
armies was a big part of the story. Tribal leaders needed to decide whether
resistance was even worthwhile. If they’re going to lose, maybe throwing in
with the Romans is the better decision. The technology possessed by the Romans
— catapults and such — left the British with their more primitive weapons at a
severe disadvantage with their only hope being to outnumber the Romans. A good
story with special appeal for those interested in the historical aspects.

FYI:

This is the
second of a series and continues the story that began with The Eagle’s Shadow. Although ideally the reader would read the
first book prior to this one, I believe reading this as a standalone would
work.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
Smashwords store

Author:

A senior at
the University of Alabama, this is Christian Edwards’ first published work. On
the horizon are her debut novel, The
Mafia Diaries, and Freefall, a
sequel to Skyfall.

Description:

“An uprise
and a war. That's all it took for the government to strip society of their
freedom. An uprise and a war was all it took to give the government access to
everyone's dreams and thoughts. It took an uprise and a war to change Katherine
Sullivan's life forever.

A
futuristic dystopia society is split into two divisions based on income status.

Rich girl
Katherine has her life turned upside down when she's kidnapped by a handsome
poor boy who claims to work for someone very close to her and ordered to bring
her to Skyfall to complete Operation Zero.”

Appraisal:

A short
story that sets up a unique dystopian world, introduces us to some interesting
characters, and takes us through a few conflicts. The resolution of the main
conflict in this story leaves the reader hanging a bit, as it sets up what
appears to be the start of the planned sequel. All in all a fun little read.

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Author and Playwright, Ken La Salle grew up in Santa Ana,
California and has remained in the surrounding area his entire life. He was
raised with strong, blue collar roots, which have given him a progressive and
environmentalist view. As a result, you'll find many of his stories touching
those areas both geographically and philosophically. His passion is intense
humor, meaningful drama, and finding answers to the questions that define our
lives. You can find out more about Ken on his website.”

Description:

“Good relationships take a certain kind of magic to
succeed, and what Alex Petroya seems to have is the wrong magic.

After his wife Stephanie leaves, Alex has one place left
to go: the pink house his parents left to him in Cambria, California. After
moving in, he discovers a box filled with unfinished stories Stephanie had
written during their marriage.

Could finishing them win her back? Alex decides to try but
finds writing is harder than it looks. With help from his brother-in-law,
Conner, he learns a simple incantation to increase focus. As Alex writes the
stories, they come true, creating strange, unnatural events. Then he gets
another idea: he will manipulate the stories further to make Stephanie return
to him.

With the incantation and the stories, Alex seems to have
tapped into a magical combination. But in the end, he finds there is no magic
stronger than that of the human heart.”

Appraisal:

Author Ken La Salle manages to write the most pathetic, self-absorbed,
uninteresting, dull character and manages to keep him there throughout most of
the story. Alex Petrova maintains his lack of growth by repeating the same
mistakes over and over in an endless circle. His lack of foresight is untenable
and disastrous.

The only saving grace he has available is his brother-in-law, Conner,
and his childhood neighbors, Karl and Betty Ferguson. However he refuses to
take any of their advice and proceeds with his own plan of action. Conner was a
bit two-dimensional and Karl and Betty were stereotypical neighbors.

The way Alex’s stories affected his surroundings was outlandish, but
entertaining. I kept feeling like surely Alex will see the light and change but
he would fall back into the same role again repeatedly. Why he continued with
the stories is beyond me. Except the last one when he decides to write his and
Stephanie living happily ever after and that one was not touched upon nearly
enough to satisfy me. Was all the magic of the prior stories undone? Did the
neighborhood survive intact? I needed more and was left wanting.

Friday, March 27, 2015

Just over a day left to vote for your picks in this year's BigAl's Books and Pals Readers' Choice Awards.Click HERE to vote and get a chance to win some great prizes.Scan the links in the right hand column under the heading "Blog Archive" for the spotlight posts with descriptions of each of the nominees and links to our review or reviews of each.Last, spread the word to all your reader friends.Voting ends at Midnight Mountain Time, tomorrow, March 28th.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
Smashwords store

Author:

Denise Kawaii resides with her husband and son in Portland, Oregon. In addition to writing books, Denise manages a paintball shop and gets out on the field to play as often as possible. She has three titles currently on the market. Age/Sex/Location: Love is Just a Click Away is a contemporary romance published by Brighton Publishing. A Giraffe in the Room is a novellette of Medical Fiction and Adaline is Kawaii's top selling YA Science Fiction.

Denise is currently writing Adaline 2.0 (sequel to Adaline), and a thriller titled Serial which will be released under the name D.K. Greene. Both titles are expected for release in late 2015..Description:

Adaline is
Huxley’s Brave New World on steroids. The novel takes place inside a huge building
that is managed by machines in service of “The Community.” All the human inhabitants
(at least all that we meet) are male and cloned from the same genetic material
so they look more or less identical. The story focuses on eight-year-old-boy
#62 (the populace uses numbers not names). Through his eyes we learn how Adaline
trains its citizens.

Appraisal:

One of the
most enjoyable aspects of reading indie works from Big Al’s long list is that
occasionally I stumble across a story that is quite different from anything
I’ve experienced before. Adaline falls firmly into that category.

#62, it
turns out, is physically similar, but internally different from most of his
“brothers” in that he dreams and has an unfettered imagination. This puts him
at odds with those who control The Community, amplifies his stress levels
because he has to come to terms with being not-the-same (which makes him a “bad
boy”), but also gives him scope to mentally escape the tightly restricted world
of Adaline.

Because
it’s such a linear story, there’s not much by way of detail that I can reveal
without providing spoilers.

I thought
it a fascinating concept, and I enjoyed the novel. I did find it a little slow
and repetitive in parts, but I also appreciate that the author was walking a fine
line because the world of Adaline is
repetitive—that is the very nature of machines.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

When good fails, chaos rises to the challenge. The daily life of a chaos demon is delightfully sinful—overindulging in Sri Lankan delicacies, trespassing on private beaches in Hawaii, and getting soused at the best angel bar on the planet. But when Bedlam learns that the archdemon Azrael has escaped from the Abyss in order to wreak vengeance against the person who sent her there—Bedlam’s best friend, Khet—he can’t sit idly by. Only one relic possesses the power to kill Khet, who suffers immortality at Lucifer’s request: the mythical Spear of Destiny, which pierced Christ’s side at His crucifixion. Neither angel nor demon has seen the Spear in two thousand years, but Azrael claims to know its location. Bedlam has no choice but to interpret woefully outdated clues and race her to its ancient resting place. His quest is made nearly impossible by the interference of a persnickety archivist, Keziel—his angelic ex—and a dedicated cult intent on keeping the Spear out of the wrong hands. But to Bedlam, “wrong” is just an arbitrary word, and there’s no way he’s letting Khet die without a fight.

Harvest’s in… Sue faces the biggest challenge of her career: she has three weeks to raise millions of dollars for research into a supergrain that promises to end world hunger. But ayalendo has some distressing -- even dangerous -- qualities. And Lucifer means to exploit them to control the world’s food supply and become a god at last. When Tess learns the identity of the shady corporation pushing ayalendo’s development, she realizes her own livelihood may be in jeopardy. She and Darrell embark on a cross-country journey to her parents’ farm to gather information for a congressional committee investigating the ayalendo project.The gods are bringing in some big guns to help. But it will be up to Sue, Tess, and Darrell to defeat Lucifer, once and for all.

The cruel and ruthless Chorkan, servants of the Dark God, have one obstacle in their path to conquest: a young noble in the Kingdom of Kier, Prince Kaden. Pursued by enemies and friends alike, while under a death sentence for a crime he didn't commit, Kaden seeks sanctuary with his old weapons master. He must find a missing princess, save his family, prevent a war and protect his kingdom, all while avoiding the executioner’s block.

It starts as a typical day in the park, with Markhat tracking a bully the law won’t touch, and promising a little girl he’ll find her missing dog, name of Cornbread.But as the sun sets over Rannit, a new menace creeps out with the dark. There’s a killer on the loose, and Markhat the finder suspects magic behind the murders. Each victim receives a grisly drawing depicting the place, time, and manner of death. Not a single victim has escaped the brutal fate drawn for them—and now Markhat’s own death-drawing has arrived.The mighty Dark Houses are also falling, one by one, as terror grips Rannit’s streets. Even sorcerers are dying, their magic failing, their blood spilled as easily as that of any other.With time and hope running out, Markhat races to outwit a creature that can see outside Time itself. Before the picture of his own death becomes stained with real blood.Warning: The dance moves described herein are not intended for novice trolley operators, and the Publisher assumes no responsibility for any loss of ornamental waterfowl, carrot-enhanced undergarments, or wheeled bathing contrivances. The preceding sentence should be read in the voice of Morgan Freeman and to the accompaniment of a competent string ensemble.

THE DYING BREATH. THE DYING WILL. THE DYING HOPE. The Beast Agon is not yet loose, but another evil has fallen on the world. Ifferon and his companions find themselves in the unenviable situation of witnessing, and partaking in, the death of another god—this time Corrias, the ruler of the Overworld. In this lifeless state, Corrias suffers a fate worse than the bonds of the Beast. Yet hope is kindled when the company find a way, however difficult, to restore the god back to life. The road to rebirth has many pitfalls, and there are some who consider such meddling with the afterlife a grave risk. The prize might be life anew—but the price might also be a second death.Enter the world of Iraldas. Walk the Road to Rebirth.

In a land haunted by the legacy of dead dragons, Rowen Locke has been many things: orphan, gravedigger, mercenary. All he ever wanted was to become a Knight of Crane and wield a kingsteel sword against the kind of grown horrors his childhood knows all too well. But that dream crumbled--replaced by a new nightmare. War is overrunning the realms, an unprecedented duel of desire and revenge, steel and sorcery. And for one disgraced man who would be a knight, in a world where no one is blameless, the time has come to decide which side he's on.

We’ve all
heard horror stories of reviewers being attacked/stalked/bullied online after
giving a less-than-stellar review to an author, and I find it absolutely
ridiculous. Bad reviews happen to everyone; they’re par for the course. The
only way to guarantee never getting a bad review, is to never publish anything.
No one likes getting them, and yes they do sting, but there are other ways to
handle a bad review besides acting out in anger. Below are some suggestions.

9) Look up a popular book on Goodreads that
sold millions, and check out all the bad reviews it got. Yes, even Stephen King
gets bad reviews (I wonder if he eats chocolate when he does?).

8) Downton
Abbey marathon. Nuff said.

7) Eat a bowl of ice cream, followed by a bag of
Doritos (because you need something salty), and then raid the fridge for that
almost-empty bag of chocolate chips (because you need something sweet). Once
you’ve downed said chocolate chips—chased with flat Coke from a week-old two
liter—complain about having eaten too much, and then pass out on the couch for
the night.

6) Call up your mom “just to chat,” but then
start to sob uncontrollably when she asks you, “How’s the book stuff goin’?”

5) Contact all your friends and family who said
they enjoyed your book, and interrogate them to find out if they were lying.
Only be satisfied upon the sixth time of them saying, “Yes, I really, really liked it!”

4) Ugly cry on the phone while trying
to—incoherently—explain to one of your writing pals why you’re not fit to write
infomercials, let alone novels.

3) Snuggle with your dog and whisper in her ear,
“You understand, don’t ya girl?” Then watch as she proceeds to lick her butt.

2) Play Candy Land with a child, and within five
minutes, I guarantee you’ll forget all about the bad review. Sure, you might
want to drink a gallon of antifreeze to put an end to your misery, but at least
you won’t be thinking about the review.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Digging up the past can be deadly... After years of running from her ex—a vicious Mexican drug lord—and his subsequent death, Kate Jones is ready to bury the past and try to piece together a new normal. But first there’s a loose end to tie and it involves digging up old ghosts that are best left alone. Unaware her actions have attracted the notice of a powerful enemy Kate is plunged into a deadly fight for survival, as both her life and the lives of the children of a man she once loved hang in the balance. And, with the possibility of an informant inside the DEA, she doesn’t know who she can trust. From the emerald green shores of Seattle to the lush Yucatan jungle and unforgiving Sonoran desert, Kate Jones must once again face her past...and hope she survives.

Love ties. Murder binds. Maggie never felt as though she belonged until Chris Stevens showed her what true happiness meant. Ten years into their marriage, miscarriages and infidelities have scarred them both. Despite their perfect-couple image, Maggie can’t look at Chris with anything but resentment. When a charismatic stranger offers the opportunity for a little harmless flirtation, she jumps into the game. But charm soon turns to malice, and a deadly split-second decision forces Maggie and Chris onto a dangerous path fraught with secrets, lies, and guilt. With no one else to turn to—no one she dares trust—Maggie will ultimately learn just how binding marital ties can be.

As the edge of winter slices through Washington D.C., Josie Bates testifies before Congress about the Albanian blood feud that sent Hannah Sheraton and Billy Zuni fleeing for their lives while Archer reluctantly abandons a trail that has gone cold in his search for the teenagers. Determined to stay one step ahead of the authorities who want Billy back and a blood feud that will only be satisfied when he is dead, Hannah and Billy head north. There they will hunker down in the darkest corner of earth they can find and wait for the danger to pass.Though the journey is treacherous, they finally find themselves isolated, safe, and as far from Hermosa Beach as they can get. But their relief is short lived. When the perpetual winter dark turns to inky black, they realize they have taken refuge in hell. Now the fight in front of Hannah and Billy is not only for their lives, but their very souls.

What would you do to protect your family...if you had a gun?It’s the middle of the night. You’re awakened by a noise. Someone's in your house. What do you do? When it happens at 148 Maple Drive, homeowner Jeff Shaw gets his gun and goes downstairs to investigate while his wife calls 9-1-1. It’s their home, after all. Jeff has to protect it. He finds two men in the kitchen and shoots them both. Dead. The incident puts great strain on Jeff and his family. He wants to believe they just need to get on with their lives and everything will return to normal. But it’s not that easy. The dead intruders belonged to a gang, ANG, “Ain’t No Game,” that now wants revenge. And one of the gang, an ex-con who goes by the name I-Man, knows more about the break-in than he’s letting on. It starts with a threatening phone call. Then it gets worse. The police, unable to protect the Shaws, suggest they move away for a while. But Jeff won't be intimidated from his own house. Homeowner With a Gun takes the reader on a suspense-filled thrill ride as this everyman fights to save himself and his family, while something a detective said plays in the back of his mind: Maybe the intruders broke into the wrong house. Happens all the time. You wouldn’t believe how often...

Exhausted by years of combat, and haunted by the ghosts of his past, nothing is going to stop special forces veteran Byron Tibor returning home to the woman he loves. But is Byron who he appears to be, and why is the American government determined to stop him? From the blood-soaked mountains of the Hindu Kush to the glittering lights of Manhattan, via the dark underbelly of the Las Vegas Strip, POST is the story of one man's struggle to retain his humanity – before it's too late.

An Amazonian tribe that may or may not exist; a dangerous teenage sorceress - and madness - conspire to stop Jake Kendricks from revealing the truth about a mysterious substance that will end world hunger.Reality and illusion collide in this fast-paced thriller in the vein of Lost and Inception.

With her senior year looming, Tess McKinnon has two goals: hanging out with her best friend, Liz, and avoiding her judgmental, alcoholic mother. Then yummy John Bartley arrives—to tell Mrs. McKinnon that her daughter is dead. Distinctly still alive, Tess is baffled by John’s tales of 1800s time travel, rewritten lives, and love. She knows she’s never seen him before, but her feelings refuse to be denied. When Tess and John discover an aged newspaper clipping that indicates John’s uncle was hanged for Tess’s murder in 1875, John decides to return to his time to save his uncle’s life. Not really sure she even believes in this time travel stuff, Tess checks the article after John leaves. The words have changed, and she is horrified to find that John has been hanged instead. Armed with determination and modern ingenuity, Tess must abandon her past and risk her future for a chance to catch her own killer and find her first love for the second time.(The sequel to The Sun, the Moon, and Maybe the Trains.)

Edinburgh, 1645: The bubonic plague rages. In a desperate attempt to quarantine the infected, the city leaders seal the residents of Mary King's Close in their underground homes. 2015: Mary King's Close is reopened, unleashing a mutated plague upon the city residents.

The UK government seals the entire city. Declaring it a dead zone they seal the survivors inside alongside the infected. dEaDINBURGH is declared a no man's land, its residents left for dead and to the dead. 2050: Joseph MacLeod, born onto the cobbles of the Royal Mile and stolen from the clutches of the infected is determined to escape the quarantined city. Under the guidance of former –marine Padre Jock, he leaves the confines of the city centre and learns how to survive the dead city. Alys Shephard, born into an all-women farming community, believes a cure lies in the south of the quarantined zone. The finest combatant in the dead city, Alys burns with anger. The anger of an abandoned child. Something much worse than the infected waits for them in the south, in the form of a religious cult led by a madman named Somna who collects gruesome trophies and worships the dead body of a former celebrity. Added to this, the enigmatic Bracha, a supreme survivalist and sadistic former-Royal with his own agenda stalks the teenagers.

Learning new magic isn’t as easy as Zoe expected, especially when the mages at Gorgon University seem dead set against teaching. Add in some necessary late-night sneaking about, and Zoe is almost certain to be kicked out. As for exploring the intriguing mysteries across the border in Wendal, well, it has more teeth than she ever imagined.

Dragons of Wendal was inspired by the short story, Snitched, Snatched, which is still available in English and Spanish in one e-book. The English version is included in Dragons of Wendal as the prologue.

Seventeen-year-old Jim JD Dillinger knows exactly how his miserable suburban life is going to play out. At least drugs added a little chaos to his life, but after almost losing his soul, JD knows he has to quit. Now clean, he figures he has another sixty years of plain old boring life followed by a nasty death. JD decides to pre-empt God by killing himself. However, once he decides to die, his life gets better, more interesting, and then downright strange. New friends. Possible romance. And donuts. Lots of donuts. Once the end is in sight, every minute becomes precious.

Most sixteen-year-old girls are obsessed with their looks, but Jazz Hooper's obsessed for a different reason. After a car accident that kills her mum, Jazz is left with severe facial scars and retreats into a dark depression.

Fearing what will happen if Jazz doesn't recover, her dad makes a drastic decision to move them from England to a game reserve in Kenya for a new start. And when Jazz finds an orphaned leopard cub, it sets off a chain of events that lead her on a two year journey of discovery, healing, and love.

Monday, March 23, 2015

When a little girl's body is found in the woods, a once quiet town is shaken to its core as it deals with the aftermath in this short story collection.A man desperately tries to make a living but finds it difficult when the company van scares potential customers away. A parent fails to see when being protective of her only child transforms into an unhealthy obsession. A man decides he no longer wants children after hearing about the dead little girl, but is there something else factoring into the sudden decision? And in the final story, a child shuts down almost completely and has no idea if she can go on without her best friend.In these twelve stories connected by a terrible tragedy, grown-ups and children alike try put the pieces back together again without any easy answers.

An entertaining short story set in a futuristic England, Purple, Silver, Olive, Orange is a bite-sized introduction to Helen Smith’s writing. Sarah wanted a sensitive, poetic, romantic boyfriend who would bring her flowers. Ryan ticks all the boxes. So why isn’t Sarah happy?

Thousands of years ago dragons soared above the earth on powerful wings. They reigned over the sky until a cataclysmic war led by dark magic users destroyed them all… all but precious few. Those who survived had to hide among humans disguising their true identity. Unless they return to the land of their heartstone, they are destined to forsake their chance of carrying on. In present day England, Desmond McKenna is tired of the loneliness and isolation of his dreary existence. Will a new discovery change his mind about finally giving up, after all this time? Will the hills of Bryn Mairwyn call to his ancient soul, or will he simply fade into the fate that is mortality?

On the day she was born, he left for the stars. He watches her grow up on screens. Misses her first words. Misses her first steps. She's never kissed his scratchy cheek, or fallen asleep on his shoulder. He's never wiped away her tears, or sung her to sleep. Now she's a toddler, and he's about to enter hibernation sleep -- and when he wakes nearly 150 years in the future, his family will be gone. This is a short story for every father who never wants his daughter to grow up.

Caribbean dive guide Gage Hoase woos and wins a beautiful dive guest, then sends her packing. All is good until Gabi returns, with happily-ever-after on her mind. Now Gage has to figure a way to let her down gently before she offs him in his sleep.

Disclaimer:

Many of the books reviewed by BigAls' Books and Pals are free review copies received from the author or a representative in exchange for an honest review.

BigAl's Books and Pals may receive a small commission for purchases made at Amazon.com, Amazon.uk, Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords after clicking on a link to one of their products as well as clicking on any other ad presented.

Reviews and posts are the opinion of the individual reviewer or post author.

(c) 2011-2017 BigAl's Books and Pals and the individual review or post author. Theme images by mammuth. Powered by Blogger.